A luminaire (i.e., light fixture) is a complete lighting unit that can include one or more lamps, corresponding sockets to hold the lamps, wiring, and often a diffuser cover or reflector that distributes the light beam over a spatial region.
Municipalities often provide luminaires suspended from a pole along a roadside to illuminate the road. Different traffic conditions on the road could benefit from different lighting methods and illumination levels. For instance, an area with high density traffic might not benefit from using a motion sensor to trigger the luminaire, as the light would have a high duty cycle. In such traffic density areas, the inclusion of a motion sensor would be an unnecessary increase to the cost of the luminaire. However, in low density traffic areas, the inclusion of a motion sensor could result in savings in electrical cost and energy consumption, through a lower lighting duty cycle.
To accommodate the various requirements of different traffic areas, municipalities can procure varying luminaires with multiple configurations. These multiple configurations vary based on the needs of the area where the luminaire is to be installed. Ordering, tracking, and installing these varied luminaires can increase the procurement, and overall costs to the municipality.